PHILADELPHIA – DesignPhiladelphia kicks off its seventh year with 11 days of non-stop programming championing design October 13 – 23, 2011, in partnership with the University of the Arts. 

One of the nation’s largest design events, DesignPhiladelphia unites the region’s dynamic creative community by bringing together individuals and organizations from every design discipline, placing a spotlight on Philadelphia’s rich design history and creative industries at work. Running in conjunction with National Design Week, the 2011 program will showcase over 450 designers and creative thinkers in more than 150 public events at unique venues and spaces across Philadelphia. Visit www.designphiladelphia.org for a full schedule of events.

DesignPhiladelphia emerged in 2005 to make the case that innovation and design is central to a city’s economic, social and educational growth.

“DesignPhiladelphia is at once an invitation to all to interact with and be provoked by design, a celebration of the region’s creative industry, and a nod to Greater Philadelphia as an incomparable place to live, work, play and grow,”says Hilary Jay, Founding Director of DesignPhiladelphia. “Programming seeks to spark conversation and encourage exploration and investigation of all things design, from innovations in product design and fashion to discussions about big picture issues facing cities today such as sustainability, transportation systems and preserving historic spaces.”

Since 2010, DesignPhiladelphia has been presented in partnership with the University of the Arts, an incubator for the next generation of designers and innovators. “DesignPhiladelphia is a major player in focusing national attention on the city as a rapidly-growing center of design innovation and excellence,” says University President Sean T. Buffington.

On Thursday, October 13, DesignPhiladelphia will open with an evening of parties, design and performance under the Reading Viaduct in the rising Callowhill Loft District. The official Kick-Off Party begins at The Liao Collection (310 N 11th St) from 6 – 7:30 p.m. (tickets are $50 and available for purchase online at www.designphiladelphia.ticketleap.com/vip). Gallery openings and a late night performance along 11th Street, all free and open to the public, will follow including openings at Vox Populi, The Action Mill and Grizzly Grizzly Gallery (7 – 9 p.m., 319 N 11th St) and the “Curlie Show” featuring Richard Nicholas Hair Studio at the new Trestle Inn (8 p.m., 339 N 11th St).

At the opening night party, DesignPhiladelphia will present the inaugural Design Champion Award to Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, in recognition of his continued advocacy of innovative design solutions for improving and greening Philadelphia’s urban environment and his extraordinary support of the creative community.

DesignPhiladelphia’s forward thinking programming offers a look across design disciplines, from architecture and urban planning to industrial design, fashion, historic preservation, product design, public art and more. Events include a diverse mix of exhibitions, lectures and panel discussions with both locally based and national renowned design visionaries, runway shows, book signings, parties, workshops and open studios set in boutiques, galleries, museums, universities, warehouses, public spaces and city streets.

A highlight of the 2011 series is Not A Vacant Lot (Oct. 19-23), a 5-day temporary exhibition at the empty lot located at 313 S Broad St. A response to Philadelphia’s pervasive vacancy problem, Not A Vacant Lot will showcase the unique potential of the space. DesignPhiladelphia – in partnership with The University of the Arts, independent curator Marianne Bernstein and Penn Design students – will transform the space with landscape design, creating a cultural hub studded with live performances, video screenings and more.

The panel discussion Gray Area: Provocations on the Future of Preservation (Oct. 19, Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch St), one of two signature programs, considers preservation in light of new economic realities, demographic shifts, technological changes, environmental pressures and myriad fast-changing factors. Gray Area, supported in part by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Heritage Philadelphia program, features Susan Szenasy (editor in chief of Metropolis magazine), Tod Williams (Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects), Enrique Norten (TEN Arquitectos), Lloyd Alter (TREEHUGGER.com), Mark Alan Hughes (founding director, Greenworks), and Randall Mason (chair, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, School of Design, University of Pennsylvania).

DesignPhiladelphia aims to make topics of design experiential and accessible for all audiences. Additional 2011 program highlights include:

• Soaring and Submersive P1: A Citywide Gardenpark (Oct. 13, FACTS Charter School, 1023 Callowhill St), a lecture exploring the VIADUCTgreene and Reading Viaduct projects and the organization’s plans to transform three miles of abandoned rail beds, 30 feet above and 30 feet below street level, into Philadelphia’s newest park. Soaring and Submersive P2: A Walking Tour of the un-Viaduct (Oct. 15, NE corner of 22nd St and Pennsylvania Ave) explores the submersive side of the Viaduct park project. www.viaductgreene.org, www.readingviaductproject.org
    
• Big Chalkers invites participants to leave a temporary tag on Philadelphia’s urban canvas using 4-foot, adult sized ‘sidewalk chalk’ crayons (Oct. 18, Café Cret, 16th and The Parkway, with additional spontaneous events taking place during DesignPhiladelphia). www.playphilly.org
    
• Dialogues on Design, the second signature program, is a series of four presentations on contemporary design topics, sponsored by DuPont™Corian® - The International and Unexpected Life of Products and By-Products by designer Rama Chorpash (Oct. 14); MIO Measures: Creating Smart Design for the Planet (Oct. 17) by Jaime Salm, Creative Director of MIO; Organic Insight of Healing Environments (Oct. 18) with Barbara J. Huelat; and Editing Design (Oct. 20) with Benjamin Pardo, Knoll Design Director.
    
• Keanan Duffty Rebel Rebel-Anti Style, a lively hour-long multimedia presentation with celebrated designer and author Keanan Duffty tracing the roots of rebel style from the 50’s to present day (Oct. 20, Drexel University, Mitchell Auditorium, 3140 Market St). www.drexel.edu/westphal
    
• The Community Design Collaborative will present the exhibition Leverage: Strengthening Neighborhoods Through Design Exhibition Community Design Collaborative (Oct. 1-23, Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch St), showcasing projects and programs that exemplify best practices in community design. www.cdesignc.org

2011 DesignPhiladelphia Downloads

For more program tips, download a short program list of DesignPhiladelphia events covering all design disciplines (will open in browser, 283 KB).

View the DesignPhiladelphia event calendar online at www.designphiladelphia.org.  

Download the full 2011 DesignPhiladelphia Program Book as a PDF document (will open in browser, 9.2 MB). To request a hardcopy of the program, email Emaleigh [at] canarypromo [dot] com (emaleigh [at] canarypromo [dot] com).

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